Wireless and cellular communication technologies have seen dramatic improvements over the past few years. Cellular service providers now offer users a wide array of services, higher usage limits and attractive subscription plans. Wireless dongles and embedded wireless modem cards allow users to use tablet computers, netbooks and laptops to access wireless Internet protocol (IP) and data services through the cellular networks. User Equipment (UE), such as Internet-enabled smart phones, tablets and gaming consoles, have become essential personal accessories, connecting users to friends, work, leisure activities and entertainment. Users now have more choices and expect to have access to content, data and communications at any time, in any place. As more users utilize these services, telecommunication system operator networks must expand to meet the increase in user demand, support the array of new services and provide fast, reliable communications.
As telecommunications operators upgrade to next generation network technologies and as subscribers consume increasing amounts of high-bandwidth content via their UEs across fixed and wireless networks, there is a growing need for both telecommunications network operators and their subscribers to better monitor their network usage and related spending.
Existing solutions for tracking usage and spending are generally focused on prepaid customers, and are typically implemented in an online charging system (OCS) of a policy and charging control network. As operators deploy new and additional policy management systems and solutions in their networks, the focus of tracking solutions will shift from prepaid customers and the OCS, to enabling interactions between charging systems and policy management systems to enforce policies (e.g., lowering data speeds, limiting access to content/applications, etc.) in the telecommunications network based on the subscriber's spending limits, credit state, user-defined parental controls, and other subscriber- or charging-related information. Accordingly, improving the architecture of policy and charging systems to better support interactions between online and offline charging systems and policy management systems will be beneficial to network operators and their consumers.